Aldis cast a web of magic power to see where Kirill was.
　He himself wasn't that far away, but the bad news was that a reaction that seemed to be a demon was approaching.

'You must be Whips,'

　The owl-headed whipsaws are the most famous demons in the Caucasus Forest.
　They are relatively docile among demons, but even so, they are merciless to those who invade their territory.
　A boy like Kirill would be dead in a breathless moment.

　Aldis quickens his pace and begins to move towards Kirill's location.
　The trees in the forest are an obstacle, but it's not much of a problem for Aldis, who is serious about running. In less than a minute, he catches up with them.

'Wait, Kirill,'

　Fortunately we were able to meet up with Kirill before we encountered Whips.

'Mr. Aldis?　Why?

'I'm not going to feel comfortable leaving them here. I was just going to test the usefulness of these guys. I'll stay with you until I return to King's Landing.

　While saying this, Aldis pulled out the 'Tsukishiro Blizzard' and threw it among the trees.
　When Kirill questioned that action, which made no sense to him, a cry of someone resounded from the direction where he threw the sword.

''Bwaaaaaaah!''

　It is the decapitation of Whipps.

　It was difficult to manipulate the sword out of the line of sight, but the large demon of the Whipps class didn't require any fine manipulation. It simply cleaves off its body.
　The magic power probe had already confirmed that there was no human-sized magic power in the vicinity.

''Wha, what was that?!

　The unusual voice frightened Kirill.

'The demons were getting close, you know. I made the first move.'

'What?　A demon!

　The boy jerked his shoulders and looked around.

'Don't worry. It's all taken care of now.'

'What?　Tidy up, ......?

Don't worry about it. Let's go.

'What?　What?　What?

　Aldis begins to walk deeper into the forest, dismissing it as inconsequential.

'You do know where the ruins are, right?　Let's get going and bring the sword back as quickly as possible. It won't do you any good to stay here for too long.

　As if to affirm Ardis's words, the voice of a beast arrived on the wind from far behind the boy.

''Hee!　Well, wait!

　Kirill's shoulders jerked for a moment and he began to hurriedly follow Aldis.




　Then they walked through the forest for about three hours.
　The two of them had arrived at their destination, the ruins.

''There it is!　Here it is, Mr. Aldis!

　Kirill squeals with delight.

　In front of Aldis and the others was a rundown church-like structure.
　It was about the size of a small two-story inn.
　The stone walls that may have surrounded the building have crumbled over the years due to exposure to the wind and rain, or perhaps they were originally destroyed by human hands, with more than half of them turning into rubble of various sizes.
　The structure itself was also tangled up with plant vines everywhere, their roots clinging to the walls.

''It's just as we heard. I heard there's a sword in these ruins: ......'

Here, hey ......

　Ardis murmurs to Kirill, who explains with a smile that seems to blow away the fatigue of the walk, while Ardis raises an eyebrow.

　It's true that this is deep in the Caucasian forest. It's a dangerous area that is infested with whips.
　Ordinary mercenaries would have lost their lives in less than an hour after entering.

　However, the top-notch mercenaries are able to explore while avoiding the enemy.
　Not to mention Ted and the rest of the Bright Star of Byakuya, Clente and the others who were escorting the peddler Michelle also probably have that ability.
　Of course, it is a prerequisite that careful preparation and prudent actions are taken, but that does not mean that it is impossible.

　The building that remains in such a place is very suspicious.
　Aldis couldn't be optimistic that no other mercenaries or treasure hunters had ever come here before, and so on.

''Well, I guess we'll find out when we get in.''

　But certainly this place was a bit different from the others. Ardis felt that way.

　On the way here, demons had come at them many times in an attempt to prey on them.
　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. There are more than twenty demons that have been slaughtered so far.

　However, the frequency with which the demons are approaching is clearly decreasing as they approach the ruins.
　Now that I have arrived at the ruins, I can't sense any demons within the range of Aldis' detectable range.
　One could think that for some reason this place is being avoided by demons.

'We don't know what kind of danger we are in. Never step forward until I say it's good.

'What?　Oh, yes.

Follow my footsteps as far as you can. There might be some kind of traps.

　If it were true, Ardis would want to go check out the danger first by himself, but the area around him is a kosas forest where demons are strutting about.
　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for, but you can't leave Kirill alone in a place where he can't see.

　Ardis stepped cautiously into the building.
　The place where the door would have been was gaping open. Only the rusty hinges claimed the existence of a door that may have sealed the gap in the past.

　I hinted at the existence of a trap to Kirill, but there would be no point in setting a trap in a place like this. Even if there were traps, it was unlikely that the traps would be alive in this state.

　Inside the building was a space with no partitions at all.
　The ceiling was high, and there was nothing like a partitioning wall in sight. The entire building seems to have been built like a large hall.

　As you enter, there is a slightly raised floor near the wall at the back of the building. There is a chunk of stone on it that looks like a pedestal.
　There is nothing to obstruct the entrance to the place. Small pieces of rubble piled up on either side of the room stood out in the center of the hall as if it were a straight road leading to the back.

'A church?　Was it?

　Turning to Aldis' back, Kirill murmurs casually.

Maybe it's .......

　As Kirill said, the building's construction was very similar to the churches seen in the city.
　But at the same time, there are some things that differ from churches, such as the shape of the window frames and the position of the altar-like area.

　It may be that the churches in the old days had such an interior. It's not just the state or the mercenary's way of being anything that gets transformed at the end of the long years.

　Aldis walked slowly inside, wary of his surroundings. Kirill follows close behind him.

'Nothing ......, it doesn't look like it?'

　Aldis speaks of the scene as he sees it.
　Walls and ceilings in tatters as far as the eye can see. Numerous pieces of debris scattered on the floor. It was hard to believe that there was anything of value left.

''Huh?　Yes, it can't be: ......

　Kirill denies it, choking on his words as Aldis turns around, but his voice is weak.
　Even Kirill's eyes can see the devastation of the desolation. You can imagine if the treasure is still there with a quick glance.

'Are you sure this is the right place?'

'Yes, I'm sure of it. The building looked exactly as I'd heard it did, too.

　Kirill assures him confidently about that.

'So?　Where do you keep that sword?

I don't know.

What?

　Aldis' eyes roll.

'Wait a minute. You came here to get your sword, didn't you?

Yes, I do.

And you don't know where the sword is?

"Ugh ......, because Marida said, 'You'll know it when you get there' .......

　It seems that this Marida is the name of the person who gave Kirill instructions.
　I'm not going to be able to tell you where the sword is, saying that you'll find it if you go there, and sending you out to look for it without even showing you where it is.

　However, it can't be helped that Kirill couldn't disagree with that.
　This is the last chance for Kirill to hang on to the straw. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to doubt my client's words and then turn away his or her salvation.

"You'll find out when you get there, hey ......

　With a troubled expression on his face, Aldis looks around the interior once more.

'If it's tinged with magic, is there at least a reaction?

　This is the sword that the merchant goes out of his way to obtain, even sending someone to get it. It may be a sword that is imbued with magic.
　I'm going to have to say that I'm not going to be able to get it right.

Hmm?

　After narrowing down the area to be explored and concentrating on not missing even the slightest magic power, I sensed an unnatural release of magic power, which was worth it. It was truly minuscule magic power, so much so that one had to pay attention to it.

''...... what do you have?　Oh, you have a basement.

　The magical response came from under the feet of Aldis and the others.

'The question is, ......, where's the entrance?'

　Once again Aldis looks around the debris-strewn surroundings and says.

'I guess we'll just have to start looking for it one by one in the weirdest places.

　Muttering to himself, Aldis began to look for the entrance to the basement.

　When he found the entrance to the basement, where the pile of rubble had been cleared away, Aldis, as expected, had a look of fatigue on his face.
　Of all things, there was an entrance underneath the biggest pile of debris.

　Kirill also helped to remove the debris, but there is more than can be done with the strength of a child whose body is not yet ready for it.
　If it was just a matter of blowing up the rubble, Aldis had plenty of ways to do it, but it would be useless if it caused the entrance and the basement itself to collapse.
　In the end, we were forced to push the debris away bit by bit, a tedious task.

'So this is where the entrance to the basement used to be.

　Kirill looked at the entrance to the basement, which was revealed after the rubble was removed, and said with admiration, "I would never have noticed it if I was alone.

If it were just me, I would never have noticed it. Even if I had known, there was so much debris that I would have been at my wits' end.

　Kirill smiles, saying it was really nice to meet Aldis-san by chance.

　On the other hand, Aldis, who was staring at the entrance to the basement, did not have an expression on her face.
　It's not because the entrance to the basement is a stubborn iron door, nor is it because that door is tightly locked.
　It was because the door was shaped in such a way that it could have been locked afterwards.

　Moreover, the number of them was extraordinary. At a quick glance, there were at least eight of them.
　Even if the door were to be locked up tightly, how many locks would be used?

　It would be much easier to cover up the door than to put several locks on it.
　This was like stalling on the time it takes to unlock the door.

　In contrast to Kirill's good mood, Aldis starts to smash the lock on the door with a face that has lost its expression.
　It must have corroded over the years. With a strong impact, the keys attached along the edge of the door fall to pieces.

　I broke all the locks and pulled up the iron door, revealing a staircase narrow enough for one person to pass through.
　The end of the stairs seems to be quite long, and the magic light that Aldis floated does not reach the depths.

''So there's a sword at the end of this one!

　Kirill's voice bounced as he looked at the stairs leading to the basement, his eyes sparkling.
　On one side, Aldis's eyes lingered on the inside of the door.
　The sooty, blackened surface and the handle for opening and closing the door broke off from its base. There was the mark of a handle that looked as if it had been snapped off rather than broken.

'Mr. Aldis, let's get going!

　Pulling back her pained face, Aldis nodded towards Kirill.
　Nudging Kirill, who was about to jump out of the way, Aldis began to descend the stairs one step at a time.